Tea-Boy
by Sullythemonster
Summary: Small particles, living organisms within themselves a miracle of nature and evolution Ianto Jones struggles with the team after Lisa, his delicate mental state making matters worse. When a terrifying disease comes though the rift, in the end can all be saved? Teamfic with a sprinkling of Janto. Rated M for violence, swearing and adult references. First fanfic please be kind
1. Prologue

Small particles, living organisms within themselves a miracle of nature and evolution. Small, hardly noticeable to the naked eye, more like specks. Specks of dust seen in the sunlight or in a dark room when you turn on a flashlight. Specks, small enough not to be noticeable to a passerby, even if there were any.

A soft cracking noise breaks through the silence of the alley way next to the nightclub just off the Plass. Not loud enough to be heard over the thumping base that was blasting out of the open doorway, or over the chatter of waiting clubbers straining to be heard over fast beats and loud signing from within the depths of the building, yet they were the there all the same. Swirls of orange and pinks move silently through the area the sound had emerged from. They danced and churned graciously in mid air, brightening the brick walls lightly. To anyone present, one may have noticed specks falling smoothly from the light before being whisked off by a sudden breeze. Lifting them up through the air and over the roof of the building before they were scattered on the chilly wind the Cardiff weather never fails to withhold; glittering as they are blown past the coloured neon lights lining the district and off into the night.


	2. Soaring, gliding, hunting

Leathery wings flap, blowing currents of cool air downwards over the curving glass panels of the Millennium Centre. Cawing in delight large muscular legs brace themselves as the roof of the centre comes into view. Her wings shift their position until she's curving around and coming in for a final decent. As the altitude drops, with a thump a heavily weighted body lands atop the centre. She draws in her powerful wings, tucking them away. Sharpened claws click over the concrete with each of the creatures steps Trilling softly a large beak lowers to the lip of the building, prods the underside and flaring its nasal receptors as it seeks a morsel to eat before heading to the heated comforts of the Hub. Curiously scraping the tip of its beak along the lip, a thick substance fastens itself to epithelial cells on the tip of the creature's proboscis; Its yellow tinge a definite contrast to the brown leathery skin covering the rest of the animal. The creature is distracted by the unwelcome noise of a loud rumble of thunder bellowing from the distance. Wind whistles over the roof bringing forth cold chills. Squawking loudly in disappointment, with a strong flap of outstretched wings Myfanwy soars into the sky as the first raindrops began to fall, spotting the pavement dark as the soft sound of pitter patter echos through the Plass once again

_Torchwood.  
Outside the government beyond the police, tracking down alien life on Earth and arming the human race against the future._

_The 21__st__ Century is when everything changes.  
And you've got to be ready_


	3. Internal punishment

Ianto yawned and glanced at the clock on the wall. It's late and everyone's left, except maybe Jack. _Owen presumably to the local pub to pick a companion for the night_. Ianto smiles sleepily to himself at the thought; amused that despite Owen's countless jabs at _his_ relationship status or lack thereof, the cynical doctor couldn't hold up a relationship himself. But he had to hand it to him, the doctor really knew how kick a man when he's down. At least Owen's desires to impair him on an extended level after Lis…the incident…would be halted if he hid himself within the comfort of files, artefacts and layers of dust.  
Dropping his ballpoint in defeat Ianto stifled a sigh and contemplated the female members of Torchwood 3's plans for the evening.

_Tosh would probably be at home by now deep in thought and concentrating on own her portable 'Torchwood',_ her countless computer programs and screens blinking away across her desk as she chews the end of her already over-chewed pencil in thought on how to improve the security protocols.

Gwen had said she'd be off limits for the night (and probably most of the morning too), pining to Jack about how she hadn't had enough time with Rhys that week and somewhat demanded the night 'off duty'. He couldn't help but snort as he recalled overhearing her loud demands, but _who_ _was he to complain_? He didn't exactly deserve any time off despite his overworked schedule at work and the fact that he hadn't even been home in the past week, due to the mountain of filing Jack managed to dump on him at the end of each day, before promptly disappearing to Gods know where.

He screwed up with Lisa. He knew that.

He leaned back on his chair to arc his back, hissing in pleasure as he heard his vertebrae realigning after a good 7 hours of archive filing and report formatting. Sighing he glanced over to the slowly receding stack of papers crumpled into folders in haste as the others had left, wondering _why the others can't do their own work on time?_ Putting his head in his hands he let his eyes flutter close as he ponders that last thought. _No, they've got the right idea. He betrayed them, almost got them killed… got them converted_; which in his opinion would be much worse than a simple death. He'd nearly had to experience it first hand, and yet he still had, looking after Lisa had consumed him. His memories made it almost unbearable; choking smoke, burning flesh mixed with metal and the unmistakable tang of urine and blood; then pain, only pain.

He'd dragged himself through the mundane routine; coffee, accept flirtations from Jack, cleaning, comfort Lisa, more cleaning, order lunch, more coffee, archives, cleaning, more flirtations, more coffee, archival work, say goodnight to Lisa, stagger home, start the day again.

He'd barely eaten in regular intervals. It wasn't like the others had even noticed. He just slipped into the background as always. Surfacing when bellowed for coffee fixes (mainly by Owen), to clean the armoury and SUV after the team had returned from rift activity, to pick up Jack's coat from the dry cleaners or to make an inventory of Owen's everlasting medical supply needs. Seriously who used that many pairs of rubber gloves? In truth Ianto would occasionally nibble on the odd Hobnob or two while sipping a nutrient overloaded coffee next to Lisa's side, yet that was just to prevent him from keeling over

He'd decided long ago that wouldn't look good on the autopsy report; 

**Name:** Ianto Darin Jones  
**Occupation:** Servant, Butler and Tea-Boy for the slavedrivers of  
Torchwood 3  
**Important Notices:** Survived Canary Warf, kept his half converted  
cyber-girlfriend in the basement that attempted  
to assassinate the entire staff (warranting 4  
weeks suspension), makes a decent coffee and  
looks good in a suit.  
**Cause of Death:** Starvation

His eating habits aside, he had slowly been coming to terms with the events on that night. There wasn't really much to get; he was disloyal, he got caught and he was punished. Nevertheless he was never really satisfied with his punishment. Sure the fact that he'd been unable to return to his routine of cleaning and filing was stressful and the rest of the team had been hellish on his return, but it was never enough.

For the first week of suspension had been hard. No one had checked up on him, not once. Yet he was certain that Bloody Jack Harkness would barrel through his door at any given moment, drag him starkers from his bed and beat him to a bloody pulp, execute him or just forcibly Retcon him back to his diapers.  
Everyday Ianto had sat on the wooden floor flat's kitchen, keeping his eyes fixated on the front door, twiddling a knife in his hands. He just waited for the familiar scent of 51st Century pheromones to waft under his door or for the shadow of that coat to compromise the line of yellow light in the hallway. The knife wasn't necessarily for self defence but for a comfort in the fact that if Harkness did show up, Ianto would finish the job himself before Jack got the chance. He'd would have the last laugh in a sense, seeing the look on Jack's face as he brought the cold metal to his neck and smiled at the bastard as if to say _'You did this'_ ; reinforcing the idea that Jack really was the monster he'd accused him of being.


	4. Chores

Ianto's eyes refocused against the musty lights of the archives as he lifted his head a little too quickly. A wave of nausea rolled over him and he wiped the palms of his hand over his face and through his hair, dropping his head forward as his fingers swept through his brown locks. Fed up he promptly dropped his hands into his lap with a disapproving thud and let his head lazily drop back. After staring at the ceiling for a few seconds he decided his next best course of action was to scavenge some food from the kitchenette and feed the household 'pets', anything to take a break from paperwork. Shifting his chair back the wooden legs scraped noisily on the concrete floor, he rose to his feet, shrugging off his suit jacket and hanging it on the back of his chair, careful not to crease the material. Patting down the matching waistcoat he is still adorning he reaches up to his tie next, shimming the Windsor knot loose before folding the red silk up neatly into a square and arranging it on top the pile of paperwork which would be awaiting him upon his return from the main Hub area.

Turning his back on his desk, Ianto walks out across the walkway as he gets about feeding the hub's local residents a near-midnight The beasties around here don't seem to respect his 'alone time'. Ever since Owen decided to trial the midnight feeding habits of Myfanwy a month after she had been first caught, she'd demanded (yes demanded) the same treatment or kicked up a fuss during the regular morning meals. Owen's sort of 'Welcome to Torchwood 3; don't forget your place' kind of thing.

Putting these thoughts to the back of his mind, Ianto managed his way to the Kitchenette, rummaging through the draws with a clatter until he finds what he's looking for. Making his way back down to the ground level of the Hub he puts his thumb and forefinger gently into his mouth and he blows hard, signalling her feeding time. Dropping his hand back to his side he waits a moment for her replying high pitched trill. A look of confusion spread across his face when none such reply came. With his brows knitted together he licks his lips in defiance and he signals again, louder, while unwrapped the block of 80% dark Belgian and waving it above his head in an attempt to waft the bitter smell through the Hub and attracting her attention. He ceases the whistling and waving when there continues to be a lack of pteranodon noises filling the air.

"Myfanwy ble wyt ti?" Ianto called. Still nothing. _Where the heck has she gone off to now?_

Turning at a near sprint he climbs up the spiral staircase; chocolate in hand, along the catwalk past the conference room and up the makeshift steps to Myfanwy's 'lair' continuing to call, "Myfanwy, yn dod ar ferch?". "Come on now" he pleaded. "_Please come and get it girl"_. Upon reaching the opening, stops. His heart was now pounding loudly as blood surged in his temples. The only sound his laboured breath echoing through the cavernous area.  
"Myfanwy?" Ianto hissed, he desperately scanned the darkened area; cursing himself for not taking a torch.__

  
Slowly he continued to move forward, listening for any sound other than the soles of his shoes crunching over the ground. A swishing in the darkness in front of him made him stop in his tracks. Warily he kept his eyes out front on the darkness while he reached for his back up gun strapped to his ankle. A smile curling the side of his mouth as he remembered Jack telling how _"having both ends covered can hardly be a bad thing"_. Rooted to the spot, Ianto held his gun steady in both his shaking hands as the sound repeated to echo. Upon hearing the sound behind him this time he whipped around almost tripping as he overcorrected his balance. Nothing.

A lump of lead seemed to have replaced his stomach. He shuddered as thoughts to what he was facing whirled erratically around his mind.

Ianto tensed swallowing hard as shiver ran up his spine. He turned slowly, squinting into the dark trying to make out any kind of familiar shape. 

"Myfan-" he was cut off as he was barrelled into hard and slammed into the wall while simultaneously stabbed by a very swift movement of a sharp appendage into his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him and making him drop to the floor in pain.

"Ugh"

Grasping desperately at his sides, Ianto groaned in pain as he feebly fought to take air into his lungs, which became all the more painful when the creature scrambled off his prone form in haste and began nudging his torso sharply. Eyes wide and terrified that someone had broken into the Hub, Ianto desperately tried scramble away. But a familiar gurgling trill made him stop. He lifted his head warily to meet the sound earning another twinge down his chest. _  
_  
"Myfanwy!" Giving her a sharp glare. Immediately he regretted the harsh tone.  
"Sorry girl, I didn't mean it… just a bit sore I suppose" Slowly Ianto uncurled his right arm from his ribs, propping himself up on his left elbow and reached out in the darkness.  
He sucked in an unsteady breath "helo yno hyfryd"  
Despite the anger and confusion coursing through his mind he couldn't help but allow his muscles to relax and a smile tug at the corner of his mouth when he felt a bony beak gently nuzzle into the palm of his hand. Letting out a sigh, Ianto rolled onto all fours and pushed himself up using the wall. Setting his jaw tight, so as not to cry out, Ianto set about prodding his ribs one by one to check for breaks. No, no, a bit tender but no, no…slowly making his way down to where he'd essentially been Rugby tackled by a pteranodon, his fingers grazed across a quite 'tender' spot. He quickly slapped his free hand over his mouth his muffled scream tore through the silence, and inwardly cursed himself for letting his control slip. Ianto let his head fall back until met with a soft thud of the rough surface behind him. He began to steady his breaths when a whimper escaped Myfanwy's throat.  
"Getting impatient are we now?" suggested Ianto, his head not moving from the position on the wall. In response Myfanwy grumbled and scrabbled her way clumsily over to Ianto, before continuing to proceed with nuzzling her hard beak into the soft flesh of his open palm that had until moments ago housed a family sized block of dark chocolate.  
Peeling himself away from the wall, Ianto brought both hands forward to scratch the skin on her forehead, receiving a pleasured squawk from Myfanwy. Smiling softly he crouched to the floor and set about locating the missing chocolate. A few minutes of blind searching with his hands and a grunt of satisfaction, he was throwing large chunks of the treat in the air for Myfanwy. After greedily swallowing a good half -a-block, and a few more friendly scratches from Ianto, she retreated to her nest.

Carefully packaging the ruminants of the treat in the zip lock bag he's pulled from his back pocket, Ianto bid Myfanwy goodnight and set about making his way back down to the hub's communal bathroom to wash up. After all even with Myfanwy chocolate manages to get everywhere. Scowling with each slow step to the lower levels, his hand firmly plastered to the stinging area on his torso, Ianto stumbled through the doorway, waiting for the lights to flicker on; making a mental note to see to the wiring again.

Squinting, Ianto steps in front of the closest sink, placing both hands against the cold enamel with a sigh. _What a night._ With a slight raise of his head, he stood back to further examine his wounds. Popping open the buttons down the front of his waistcoat one by one, Ianto let shrugs off the material and begins work on his shirt. Firstly untucking the tails of the red material from his trousers and undoing the small buttons. Once all were undone Ianto returned his gaze to his torso, sweeping his hands softly across the cream-white skin, looking for any serious damage. Yet all he noticed was the many almost grotesquely protruding ribs. However after trailing a few tender spots with his fingertips he noticed a small bloody scratch, just above his naval. It was almost completely scabbed over but surrounded by a patch of raised reddened skin. Stroking the area experimentally Ianto breathed in sharply, pursing his limps tightly in pain.Assuming that Myfanwy's beak must have nicked him when she decided to rugby tackle him; Ianto realised that it was almost certain to get infected.

He set about scrounging for the medical kit under the sink. There was no way he had the energy to make his way down to the autopsy bay to raid Owen's supplies. The idea of calling Jack was also not an option; he'd probably take it as a chance for further harassment… and God forbid he'd call Owen on a Saturday night for something he could handle himself. He really didn't need that kind of headache in the morning. With a crack of the knees, Ianto bent down and opened the cupboard, located the kit, hunted through the piles of bandages and painkillers until he came across an antiseptic ointment. Lathering his fingers generously with the cream, he winced as it the coldness stung in contact with his skin. Covering the site with a stick-on waterproof bandage, Ianto began to wash the cream from his fingers with a generous lathering of liquid soap. Looking around hopefully for a hand towel, a groan escaped Ianto's throat as he recalls he hadn't completed the laundry that day; _"great"_ he sighed_…_mentallyadding that to the to-do-list. Hastily patting his hands dry on his trousers he cringes as he thinks of the state of his new suit. Between the numerous rips he's sure he attained from the struggle with Myfanwy and the grit caked over his body, Ianto resists the urge to surcome to the nausea that was threatening him. Digging through the kit once more, Ianto finds an orange bottle of white pills. Carefully reading the fading print;

'May cause drowsiness'

_perfect  
_he shook out a couple of painkillers, swallowed them down dry and then replaced the box under the sink. Sloppily buttoning up his shirt and throwing the waistcoat over his arm he stumbled back across the Hub and to the entrance of the archives. Placing his folded up waistcoat next to his tie on his desk, Ianto ungraciously floped back into his chair with a grunt. Leaning forward to rest his head on the surface he allows his eyes to flutter close as the fatigue takes hold.


	5. Coffee and a grumpy Londoner

When he woke, Ianto was surrounded by the usual textures and smells of the archives. The polished wooden desk was smooth and cool beneath his cheek. Crinkling his nose he forced his eyes open and leaned back in the chair he was still occupying. Glancing over to the clock, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with the knuckles of his fingers.  
"Shit"he exclaimed. 8:00 AM already.

Scrambling to the bathroom, Ianto works his way into his back up suit fixes his hair and strolls out into the kitchenette to begin the coffee routine.

Jack: Filtered long black

Tosh: Soy decaf cappuccino with hazelnut essence

Owen: White with one and a dash of vanilla

Gwen: Moccachino with two

You can tell a lot about someone by their drink…__

The blaring cog door alarminterrupts his thoughts, Ianto shook his head lightly, breathing a deep breath out as he plastered on the mask he wore in front of the others.

"Oi! Tea-boy. Coffee. Now!" Owen bellowed even before stepping over the threshold of the Hub.

Lifting his head from the completion of the team's morning refreshments, Ianto couldn't help but sigh again as he saw Owen. It's _always better when one of the girls arrives first_; _he's never as cranky then_… he let his mask slip as a look of concern crossed his face, his eyes widening a little as he took in Owen but regained his composure just as quickly.  
"Rough night I take it Owen?" He motioned to the purple bruise framing Owen's left cheekbone before continuing the assembling of assorted coffee mugs onto the silver serving tray.

Owen tossed his backpack in the general direction of the autopsy bay (with more emphasis than needed). Ianto couldn't help but feel that the gesture was aimed more so at him than the undeserving floor, but decided against outlining the point.  
"Pfft… Fucking delightful actually", Owen said irritably. With a thump Owen collapsed into the comfort of his chair and swung his feet atop the desk tapping loudly as he awaiting his morning brew.

Not seeing the problem with asking, Ianto turned his head in Owen's direction, not taking his eyes of the coffee he was carefully preparing.  
"Male or female?" he inquired.

"What do _you _think smart arse?" Owen hissed, "It's none of your bloody business anyway…"

"I was just wondering Owen, nothing meant by it" Ianto assured, as he realised that he should under usual circumstances back track from enraging Owen on which could only be described as one of his bad days.

He brought his feet down hard to the floor with a whack. "If you _must_ pry, it was a husband. A nice drunk, overbuilt husband that my _lovely_ lady friend failed to bring up before I made a pass at her"

Gulping back the relief that Owen hadn't snapped at him too harshly, Ianto decided to give him some friendly advice; "It looks nasty, you should get someone to look at that fo –"

Owen slammed both fists down on his desk with a loud bang making his stationary rattle in their containers and Ianto jump, nearly sloshing hot coffee over his hands. Suddenly Owen pushed back on his chair and stood up hands placed his hands firmly on the surface, glaring at Ianto sternly from across the room.  
"Now you listen here Tea-boy and listen good… I do not want nor need your personal medical opinion so do me a favour and Fuck the hell off!"

Ianto opened his mouth to make a snappy retort but quickly shut it again. Obviously Owen was not in the mood for a banter which didn't involve Ianto being seriously injured in the process. With a short breath out Ianto steadied himself and continued fixing the other's drinks, in the hope that his coffee fix would lighten the atmosphere from its current down spiral.

Ianto snaps back into his routine, replacing his mask as the guttural shriek and blaring of sirens sounds through the Hub, heralding the arrival of the girls. He smiles politely as Tosh and Gwen walk in chattering away about the last night's soap opera.

"I know, but I still can't believe that he was having an affair, did not see that coming" exclaimed Gwen.

"Anyone I know Gwen?"

Gwen and Tosh snapped up to find Jack grinning from the doorway of his office with that 1,000 watt smile.  
"I'm sure _you_ would Jack" giggled Gwen, flopping down in her chair and turning her attention to the report notes stacked on her desk.

With a clank of electronics, Tosh deposits a box full of equipment under the walkway before, turning to her computer and resumes the constant tapping of computer keys.

Bounding down the stairwell, hand sliding down the handrail, Jack made his way down to greet the girls, but was disrupted quickly by the site which greeted him. Smiling that trademark grin, he lifted his feet to make as least noise as possible, as he slowly crept over to the kitchenette. 

"There's my favourite Welshman, looking gorgeous as always" he whispered.  
He slid his hands around Ianto's waist, pulling his back towards his chest.

Jumping slightly with a clang of porcelain and sharp intake of breath, as the sweet 51st century pheromones drifted through his nose, Ianto steadied his breathing before responding.  
"That's harassment _Sir_" 

"Oh really, hmmm…" shifting his hands to Ianto's hips, squeezing gently. Ianto breathed in sharply as his fingers scraped over his tender area, but tried not to draw any attention to himself. Jack snuggled into the curve of Ianto's neck, unaware of Ianto's abdominal muscles twitching under pain, and breathed in the scent of coffee deeply that seemed to resonate from the younger man's skin, "… any punishments you have in mind?"

Ianto forgot about the pain quickly as he could practically feel the grin pressed into the nape of his collar._  
Two can play at this game_.  
He raised a brow playfully, "One word _Sir_… decaf" Ianto said with a smirk, not taking his eyes of the array of coffee mugs he was shifting to the carry tray.

Jack pulled away in mock shock, "You wouldn't dare…." circling his thumbs slowly on Ianto's pelvis.

Ignoring Jack's advance, Ianto turned around in his warm embrace to lessen the pressure and met his gaze.  
"I simply wouldn't know sir", his voice teasing. He held out the blue and white striped porcelain cup to Jack, forcing distance between their bodies.

Jack took the steaming mug in gratitude, smiling as a blush bloomed across the younger man's cheeks before retreating to great the girls.  
"Thanks' Ianto"

Shaking his head, in an attempt to cool the heat radiating from his face, Ianto turned away to tend to the coffees once more.


	6. A normal day at Torchwood

What was to be a relatively slow day, turned sour when the rift alarms shrieked again, forcing everyone to their feet.  
Tosh, was frantically typing at her station, her look flickering between the illuminated screen of codes and her rapidly moving fingers.

"Jack!" she called, an obvious tinge of worry evident in her voice.

Jack strides up to her side, looking over her shoulder at the screen; even though he had no chance of understanding a word of what he was reading.  
Tosh didn't break the pace of frantic typing as he placed his hand on her shoulder.  
"Tosh watcha got?" 

"Hoix. Spotted behind the dumpster of the Oceana nightclub in Cardiff. Hostile behaviour.  
So far…. 3 casualties".

"Alright" his voice taking on a sudden serious tone

Jack turned to the rest of the team who had gathered around the workstation and locked eyes with Owen.  
"Gather the tranquilisers from storage and get the med kit into the SUV".  
Owen nods in response and is off to the Autopsy bay without a word.

Turning back to Tosh, who's still tapping madly on her keyboard, he pats her on the shoulder. "Tosh; in the SUV. Hack into the cameras in the area and see if you can track the movements for us." She swiftly jumps up, grabbing hopefully useful gadgets off her desk and jogs quickly out of sight.

He turns to Gwen next.  
"Gwen; with me to the armoury in case our patient decides on another snack".

Jack's about to turn away when he spots Ianto on the catwalk. He stops in his tracks and looks a little guilty about forgetting the young Welshman yet again.  
"Ianto! Can you please set up a cell for our new inmate? Preferably away from Janet, she didn't seem to enjoy the last one's company terribly much"  
As per usual Ianto's swift reply comes from the direction of the kitchenette.  
"Of course sir" 

Ianto scurried off towards the lower containment cells, his footsteps clanging across the plank bridge in front of the fountain. Grabbing a broom, cloth and floor cleaner from the supply cupboard on his route, Ianto strolls down the corridor, turning right into the isle of cells once he reaches the ladder attached to the far wall. Making it in front of one of the sturdy doors he, pulls open the latched handle with slight force and begins the mundane task of sweeping out the piles of dirt and grime. Once the floor is clear of dust bunnies, Ianto scrubs the floor clean with the cloth in an attempt to rid the room of the many underlying layers of stale urine.

After a good half an hour of scrubbing and cleaning, he pulls himself to his feet and observes his work. Satisfied that it will last at least an hour of Hoix accommodation, Ianto makes his way back to the main Hub area to clean the mountain of coffee mugs that has already seem to accumulate on the sink next to the usually spotless kitchenette.  
Ianto undoes his cufflinks one at a time and carefully places them in his waistcoat pocket. He then rolls up his sleeves and removes his comm. device, putting it on the far edge of the bench top. After finding a clean sponge under the sink, he soaps it up with lemon detergent and goes about tackling the task of sanitising the mugs.

He paused wiping as a headache throbbed at his temples. It wasn't his first migraine; he'd had quite a few during his care for Lisa and even more as a child. He recalled lack of food and sleep was usually the trigger and attempted to calm himself using the breathing techniques he'd often used to get through these situations. Yet as his deep breaths continued, the more the ache seemed to spread through his body.  
Dropping the cloth in his hands, Ianto's hands plastered themselves to the soreness of his stomach, desperately trying to release the pressure. A wave of nausea flooded his senses and he grasped frantically at the bench top with one hand but was unable to brace himself securely. His knees buckled uncontrollably and he greeted the floor, his hand connecting with the stacks of coffee mugs on the sink, sending them flying with a crash in all directions. Ianto let out a as the sting of fresh cuts and uncomfortable feeling of a warm, hot liquid registered.  
Coloured dots danced in his field of view as nausea continued to wash over him by the bucket load. He once again tried take a deep breath to overcome the feeling, but began to panic when he couldn't. A hand quickly moved to his throat and his eyes grew wide when he felt the area had swollen considerably under his fingertips. His legs refusing to cooperate, Ianto reached up towards the bench top, trying to grab at his comm. unit. Darkness was creeping at the edges of his vision yet summoning enough energy to drag his upper body up a little. Ianto stretched his fingers as far as they would and managed to tap the device, turning it on.

Ianto fell backwards once more with a thump as his head connected with the metal grating, unable to move he prayed for an end to the silence that had engulfed the hub. After a few moments the comm. Unit crackled and a familiar voice squeaked out of the headphone.  
"Hello?... 

Ianto tried to say something. Explain the urgency of his situation. Yet his throat continued to constrict, and the only sound he could manage was a strangled gargling sound. The last thing he heard before being pulled into the darkness was Jack's voice slipping away; "Ianto?"


	7. Fear is of the mind

A frustrated Owen wiped the sweat running down his face, desperately trying to keep up the ridiculous pace being set by Jack about 10m ahead.  
"Fuck. Jack! Slow down will ya!? Not all of us have an endless supply of energy you know!" his words coming out as more of a pant by this stage.

Jack turned to glare over his shoulder and the two briefly locked eyes. "Seriously Owen?" he scoffed. "You REALLY need to keep up your cardio. Go to the gym, lay off the junk food…" A grin spread across his face and he turned his back while yelling even louder in the general direction of his teammate "maybe a break from caffeine would improve your health?"

It wasn't long before the angry reply was flung back in his general direction. "NO way Jack. Unless you want a lethargic medic to rely on you know better than-".

A noise up ahead quickly stopped the rant from continuing as the two men rushed to conceal themselves behind a nearby dumpster before drawing their guns.  
A rumbling growl echoed through the air. Owen heard himself gasp as the growl was followed by a high pitched scraping of nail on steel. _Shit shit shit_. His entire body froze and the only sound he could hear was blood pounding in his head as he shook with adrenaline, making it increasingly harder to concentrate. He jolted back to reality at the feeling of a steadying hand on his shoulder. _Jack_. Turning to Jack he smiled cautiously, brushing off the look of concern being given to him. Directing his attention back to the situation at hand, Owen pushed himself into a squatting position so he could peak around the dumpster as the sniffing sound seemed to get closer. He immediately regretted the decision when he was greeted by a pair of dripping jaws filled with menacing, yellowing teeth. Taking a short inhale of breath, Owen's jaw dropped open in shock.  
"J-Jaack" Whispered Owen, his throat suddenly turning dry.

The Hoix sniffed at the younger man's face, processing his scent

"Owen?"

Frozen in fear, the young man began to shake but didn't dare answer the Captain. The alien opened its jaws and a low grumbling sound emanated from its throat. The smell that assaulted his nostrils almost made him gag; but the already rotting flesh stuck in-between the Hoix's teeth served as a reminder against sudden movements.  
All it took was a small exhale from Owen, a whisp of a breath in the alien's direction before the creature snarled and everything went black.


	8. What about Ianto Jones?

Gravel and dirt cut into his face as he was barrelled into sideways.  
"Ahhhhrgggg…haaa hhaaaa" Desperately trying to regain the air that had been knocked out of him, Owen rolled dumbly onto his side, let wondering why he hadn't been ripped to shreds yet.  
Dull thuds echoed in the back of his mind, but the sounds didn't quite register. As a scream of pain broke through his subconscious, Owen curiously opened his eyes, just in time for a dead Jack to collapse next to him.

With a yelp, Owen shot up and scrambled away from the corpse to pick up his firearm which had been flung from his clutches. His eyes quickly darted to where the Hoix had been moments earlier, only to find it sprawled out on the ground opposite Jack, its breaths shallowing as dark blood oozed from the half a dozen bullet holes in its chest. Cautiously Owen stepped his way over to the alien, gun raised.

Crouching down to check the damage, he quickly concluded that it was a lost cause and turned on his heels to get back to Jack.  
The Captain was covered in blood.  
As he approached his fallen teammate he realised that he had been in about the same shape as the Hoix; blood covered his shirt and the majority of his RAF coat. He sat down next to Jack, partially because he was experiencing shock and because he had to wait for Jack to return. After a few minutes with a loud gasp the captain bolted upright, eyes frantically searching for purchase on anything familiar.

"Woah, h-hey there Jack, nice of you to rejoin the living" sighed Owen.

Jack blinked and struggled to focus on the sound, eventually calming down as he recognised the London accent.

"Woooo that", Jack breathed, motioning to the Hoix, "was unpleasant to say the least".  
Crawling into a standing position, he cracked his back as the last few bones realigned.  
He offered Owen a hand up, and pulled the Londoner to his feet, receiving a grunt for his troubles.

"Well tea-boy isn't going to be happy" smirked Owen.  
"Wha-?" Confused, Jack followed Owen's gaze and realised his coat was now covered in blood and stained with unimaginable substances from the dumpster. "Ahh crap" he sighed, he turned his eyes to sky and dramatically raised his arms above his head "Really? Really?!" he demanded. He received a scoff from Owens direction but gave him a stern look, shutting him up quickly.

Jack hastily retrieved his keys from his pocket and sighed. Ianto was going to be livid when he saw the state of his coat.  
"Let's just get back to the H- "  
A beeping from his ear cut him short and he realised that someone was trying to contact him via the comm. Units.  
Turning away from Owen he began pacing back towards the Hoix's corpse, he pressed the button at his ear.  
"Hello?" he asked. He furrowed his brow when he got no answer. Was it Gwen? No she was with Tosh in the SUV; not likely Tosh? Jack flipped open his wrist strap and if possible his face looked even more confused when he recognised the communication wavelength he was being contacted from. _4850I3802J _  
"Ianto?" he asked.  
No answer  
His heart suddenly pounded in his chest and his mouth went dry as he heard a strange wheezing his ear, the sound faint and desperate. Straining to hear it, Jack began nipping his lower lip as the airway went quiet again. _Shit_

"IANTO?!" he demanded, aware of how his voice cracked. _Something's not right_

He turned back to the now confused looking doctor, "Owen I need you to stay and wait for the girls" he instructed. Without giving Owen a chance to moan he walks pass him and tapping his Comm Unit as he goes. "Gwen? You and Tosh bring the SUV round the back of the club. Owen will help you put the Hoix in the back" he ordered.

"OK Jack. Are you alright" questioned Gwen.

"Ianto's not answering his comm, and I can hear a weird wheezing noise." Stuttered Jack.

"Jack. Is there not the possibility that he's fallen asleep and knocked his comm. on?" suggested Gwen. "He's been looking tired for days, it wouldn't surprise me if he's pas-."

"Besides" groaned Owen. "He could have triggered the failsafe via his comm. if anything had happened don't you think? He isn't _that _thick-headed" flailing his arms to emphasise the point. "Can we please just get this stinking thing…" motioning angrily to the Hoix corpse, "…out of the alley way _before_ tomorrow"

Jack stopped to consider this.  
"Yeah- I guess you're right, he has been overloaded with work at late…" admitted Jack, walking back towards Owen.  
"Let's just get back quickly, so we can wake him up and get some coffee" he smiled.


	9. Inner monologue of Mr Jones

_Even through the tears I manage to slide my hands under my mattress to where I keep it. My hands clasp the cold, unforgiving slither of metal… __**I have no one. No one left. They're all gone.**__  
I sit up against the end of the bed and stare down at the instrument of my destruction in my hands. My hand shakes as I hold it. I catch my reflection on the side of the knife. I hardly recognize myself behind the brown curls. Caked in grime and blood, hers and mine. I look repulsive; white withered complexion and my blue eyes red and puffy eyes, now sunken back and lifeless.  
__**The traitor. The murderer. Tying off loose ends. No one to miss me. Gone. All gone**__.  
__**Maybe it's better this way**__…  
I hold back tears as I increase the pressure of its sharp edge to my wrist… Lisa_

  
Even in his unconscious state Ianto was in pain. That same feeling of helplessness from Canary Warf and Lisa's attack was consuming him from the inside out; it had been for a long time.

_But I was nothing but a coward. Couldn't even do it properly, just sat crying for hours screaming for her. It wasn't worth it. Everything. The lies and deception, she wasn't even there in the end. Because of me two innocents were slaughtered. Annie and Dr. Tanazaki are dead. She nearly killed everyone and it would have been because of me. My sweet Lisa, never coming back._

The realization that death would be closing in soon became apparent and he subconsciously relaxed a little and welcomed it.  
_  
Maybe it's better this way…._


	10. Nightmare

The cog door rumbled open as the team stumbled through into the depths of the Hub.  
Owen wheeled in a body bag down towards the med bay for storage without a word.  
Gwen slumped on her chair, scribbling few quick notes about the case for Ianto to later make into a believable cover story, before bidding them goodnight and heading home.  
Jack had disappeared off into the recesses of the Hub, most likely to find Ianto and his coffee.

Tosh meanwhile had began typing madly at her workstation, recording the night's figures on the on the Torchwood database. Chewing on the end of her pencil in thought, she decides to search through the box of tech she brought in that morning. Tosh got up from her chair walks over to where she placed it that morning and lifts up the box. About to walk back to her desk, she stops when she feels moisture on the floor as she walks. Tosh curiously strains her eyes to get a better look only to feel at drop of wetness on the back of her neck. _What the-_.  
She quickly straightens herself up and slaps a hand to the back of her neck in surprise; struggling to keep the box balanced with one hand and nearly dropping it in the process. Bringing her hand in front of her face she immediately whitens and lets out a gasp.

A dark red liquid.  
Fear hits her full on and she drops the box with a clatter, as she realises what the ruby substance smudged on her palm is. _Oh Gods… blood. _Her breathing immediately accelerates when she glances down past her blood covered hand to see a large puddle and shards of broken crockery under her feet. Afraid to even look up, Tosh takes in a stuttering breath before slowly glimpsing above her. A silhouette. There was a person was sprawled out on the catwalk above her. _Ianto_.  
The scream that left her at this stage was only slightly muffled by her hands plastered over her mouth, but was still a terrifying sound.  
"JJAAACCCCKKKK!... oh Gods noooo no no noooooo…"  
Still staring at the space above her, Tosh continues to sob, unable to move. 


	11. Coffee, Teaboys and Blood oh my

**A/N:  
Hi everyone ^_^**  
**I guess this is the first time I have actually put out an author's note so it's about time right?**  
**Haha thought so!  
Anyway, thank you all so much for the support so far all of the views, favs, followers and reviews, they are all very much appreciated; especially considering this is my first public fanfic.**

I will of course try to update as much as possible before studying resumes so I hope you all stay along for the ride.

Oh and I have a writing buddy by the name of azehcaz who I strongly recommend you guys follow ^_^  
They've just began to continue writing and has somehow managed to perfectly balance Dr. Who and Harry Potter in a fantastic crossover story (please read :D )

**_I probably forgot to put this in in my haste for getting my first chapters out there but yes like so many others I unfortunately do not own the rights to Torchwood or the many characters involved._**

* * *

Coffee, Teaboys and Blood oh my...

* * *

Jack makes his way through the cog door, dumping his gear and making a beeline towards the Archives.  
Although Jack was still a little mad at Ianto for his disloyalty, he'd attempted to keep the atmosphere as normal as possible; seeing no need in embarrassing the man further by highlighting his errors for the rest of his life.

He's been caught and punished. No more to it.

One way he had tried to maintain the structure was to keep Ianto on permanent coffee duty, knowing that it relaxed the team, including Ianto.

Stopping only briefly at the entrance to knock softly on the door frame, while peaking around the corner, Jack couldn't help but grin.  
"Ian-to" Jack called. "If you wouldn't be so kind as to make me one of your delicious…"  
He paused and stepped into the room, looking confused when he realised the young Welshman was nowhere in sight, "…coff-ees?" he finished.

_ Where could he have gotten off to now?_

Deciding on asking one of the girls if they'd seen him, Jack strolled out of the archives, arms crossed in thought of where he's gone to.  
Pushing aside further thoughts of betrayal which seem to be common dialogue for Owen ever since the Lisa ordeal.

"JJAAACCCCKKKK!... oh Gods noooo no no noooooo…"  
Forgetting Ianto, Jack bolted out to the centre Hub, Webley already drawn out in front; scanning the area, puzzled when he failed to see an immediate threat.  
He turned to see Owen jogging from the autopsy bay guns drawn in Tosh's direction and looking just as confused as him.  
Jack was quickly at his side "Owen? What's going on" he demanded.

"I don't know Jack, she – just…" stuttered Owen.  
Owen holstered his gun and was now crouched next to Tosh's kneeling frame. He put two hands to either side of her face, making her look away from the ceiling and at him.

"Tosh, sweetie come on look at me….That's a girl" he cooed. "Tosh what's wrong? Are you injured?"  
_Please be alright.  
_  
She moved her hand and Owen cursed as he noticed the blood caked on her palm and cheek and set about trying to get more information out of the woman.

"Tosh, where are you hurt? You need to tell me" he pleaded, not even noticing when his voice cracked in concern.

She turned to look back at him, her face ghostly white, before shaking her head slightly and looking back at the ceiling. Following her gaze to the above catwalk, he froze.

_Oh Jesus._

Obviously Jack had done the same because the next second he was bounding up the stairs and across the body which lay there.


	12. Dr Harper, You're being paged

**N/A:  
Hi all ^_^**  
**So as I promised to myself... LONGER CHAPTER! WOOOOHOOOOO :D**  
**Well I'm excited. I hope you are.**

Apologies for any spelling/grammar... it's been a looonnnngggg day

* * *

Dr. Harper, You're being paged...

* * *

Jack raced up the stairs, taking so many steps at a time it was a miracle he hadn't tripped.  
"Ianto!.  
Practically collapsing at the fallen man's side, Jack's mind went into overdrive.  
Ianto  
"Ianto….please…" he pleaded, gently grasping the other man's face in his hands he desperately attempted to rouse him from the deep slumber he was currently seemed to be in.  
His eyes widened when he saw blood steadily seeping from a laceration and down the man's now pale cheeks, contrasting against the bluing lips…

* * *

_Shit…Fuck…fuck…fuck…fuck…_

_I've seen many bodies during my years of service; countless men, no… boys, slaughtered on the battlefield after false promises of returning home to living families. I've made some of those lies myself. I've watched them drop one after one, terrified, screaming in agony, bawling for their loved ones… the horror of those years… I've never been so afraid…_

_Until now -_

_Ianto_

_Ianto Jones, I'd willingly give my life for him - and I have._  
_Please. Please. Please. Please. Come back ~_

* * *

Mind a mess, he tried to remember the hundreds of first aid courses he'd been forced into.

_You've been in countless wars for Gods sakes…pull it together._  
_Ok..ok… shit… can't move him into R.P encase of spinal injuries….pulse.. PULSE!  
_  
Quickly grasping Ianto's wrist with his left hand he stared intently at his watch, eyes flickering between the metal device and the cool clammy skin beneath his fingertips.

The only sounds he could hear, his own heart pounding in his ears over the distant splash of water from the monument and the pounding of feet over metal grating.  
He felt his heart drop to his stomach with enough force to make him physically lurch forward.

N-nothing… there was nothing.

Frantically he began moving his fingers to different positions on the wrist, digging in as if he could get a better purchase on the thumping sensation he so desperately needed to feel against his skin.  
_No.. no no no no!_ "NO!" he yelled.  
"OWEN!" Jack bellowed, not taking his eyes off of his lover's face.

* * *

"Jesus Jack no need to bloody yell when I'm right here" snapped Owen, as he bounded up the stairs, dawned in his surgical gloves with his portable med kit in hand.  
Kneeling on the other side of Ianto, he pushed the now frozen Jack back a little "Ok move back a bit Jack I need a look at him". Noting that Jack was obviously falling into shock,  
Owen's snarly demeanour shifted into one of the more compassionate doctor he once was. Owen mentally sighed. He placed a hand on the other's arm desperate to get Ianto the medical attention he desperately needed."Jack?" he urged, "let me see OK? I need to help Ianto".

Upon hearing Ianto's name, Jack hesitantly shuffled backwards, keeping his hand on Ianto's wrist, his eyes glued to his face.  
Owen nodded and let his grip on Jack's arm fall away, allowing himself to let his focus on Ianto's condition.

It didn't take a doctor to realise that Ianto was in the midst of a serious allergic reaction.  
_But to what?  
_Noting the man's pale and clammy complexion and the tinge of blue around his swollen lips, he carefully shifted Ianto's head upwards, motioning for Jack to hold his head as he continued the examination.  
With one pointer and middle fingers he felt Ianto's thyroid glands and with the other attempted to feel for a pulse. Upon doing so he swore as he felt no pulse and severe swelling he was sure was blocking off the man's airway; he opened the med kit beside him anxiously searching through its depths.  
Attaching a finger pulse oximeter, he dug out his scanner.  
Jack hesitantly moved to grasp Ianto's hand, now deep in thought.  
A quick scan from the hand held device confirmed the worst; near non-existent blood pressure, head injury, closed off trachea… _shit_… penetrating abdominal wound and internal bleeding.

With no time to waste on attempting to give CPR when the airway was completely blocked off internally, Owen plunged an epinephrine needle into the meat of Ianto's leg through his pressed trousers; ignoring the protests from the now surprisingly lively Jack and Gwen; who had appeared at the stairwell.  
He hoped to feel a jolt of surprise, a twitch beneath him…something!  
"Come on Tea boy!.." he whispered.  
Waiting a few seconds he realised with horror that the epi wasn't having any effect at least on the swelling around Ianto's throat which was obstructing any breathing.  
"Shit" he muttered. Upturning his themed kit, grabbed a sterilised scalpel, ripping off the plastic covering with his teeth, kneeling over Ianto.

"What the fuck are you doing!" yelled Jack and Gwen simultaneously, eyes sharper than the scalpel he was holding glaring at him is angered disapproval.

"I _need_ to get the oxygen flowing" he explained, determination strong in his voice, "Normally I'd intubate but with a fully closed over trachea I'm not willing to risk damaging his airway or vocal chords by going in blind." Owen turned to face Jack, seriousness plastered over his expression, "I _know _you're not going to like this - but I need to do a tracheostomy - to keep him alive Jack."

Without even waiting to be interrupted, he shifted his vision back to Ianto and cupped Ianto's chin, forcing his head back a little, exposing his neck.  
"Jack I need you to hold his head still OK?" he asked, not even daring to look up.

He was internally glad for the man's courage as he felt large hands grasp Ianto; after all he was about to cut into Ianto's throat, which under normal circumstances would be horrific to anyone.

Owen shifted as he steadied himself over Ianto's prone looking form, attempting to block Jack's vision as well as getting enough light for himself.

_OK…OK… You've done this plenty of times in theatre…  
_  
Taking a deep breath in and out, Owen brought the scalpel down into Ianto's windpipe, between the Adam's apple and Cricoid cartilage, carefully making a deep vertical incision.  
After a small twist of the scalpel, a small gasp broke the silence.

Owen spread the cut skin and trahcea with two fingers, using a surgical hook to manipulate the trachea.  
With some surgical cloth he blotted away some of the blood which began to flow from Ianto's neck, noting Jack wince next to him at the sight.

Owen grabbed a 'trach tube' from his kit and inserted it into the incision, using the ties to secure the device. Attaching the 'resus pump' he gave it a few good squeezes and pumped Ianto's chest in an attempt to reboot his circularity system; his gaze alternating between the screen on the oximeter and Ianto's chest.

Lub - dub

After a few tense seconds, Owen let out the breath he had no idea he'd been holding as he noticed the small rise and fall of Ianto's diaphragm, his lips and skin slowly regaining their colour.  
He threw his head back in triumph, "Thank fuck for that" he sighed.  
Turning to Jack he smiled, "I've got him breathing again". Immediately he saw relief wash over the Captain's face, tears welling up as he smiled back.

"Thank you Owen" he mouthed, unable to express the overwhelming emotions coursing though him.

He brought his hand to gently caress Ianto's cheek to unconsciously reassure him that everything was going to be alright; but it was obvious that it was for both of their sakes.

"We're not out of the woods yet Jack, he's seriously injured and we have no idea how long he's been without oxygen" warned Owen, placing and adjusting a neck brace on Ianto.

"Gwen" he called, turning in her direction, "Go down to the med bay and grab me a stretcher" after a quick nod he heard her race of down the stairs " – under the central autopsy table!" he hollered after her.

Owen turned to Jack, his voice hinted with seriousness, "Jack keep pumping the resus pump at steady intervals OK?, he may be breathing but he's not strong enough on his own", he smiled reassuringly, "At least not yet".  
Jack returned the smile and nodded before taking over the pump.

Owen began to search Ianto's body for further injuries.

"Jack- I need you to understand that at the moment I have no clue what the **fuck **is going on", He noticed a darkened patch of cloth and began to unbutton the man's waistcoat and shirt to gain better a better view, "but I need you – to… call…".  
He stopped in his tracks, hands frozen in the action of pulling the shirt to the sides and failed to stifle his shocked gasp.

Jack swallowed and one hand hovering over his comm. device, confused at Owen's sudden silence.

"Owen?". Upon no response he frowned and nervously nibbled his bottom lip at the worry clearly etched across the doctor's face.  
Owen swallowed thickly as his hazel eyes locked Jack's piercing blue ones, "Jack- we… we have a problem" he stammered, panic flashing over his usually reserved facial expression.

* * *

Dread began to build and Jack hesitantly shifted to get a better look at the spot on which Owen's eyes were fixed. Suddenly his breath hitched and his stomach violently lurched.

Ianto's chest was mottled with bruises.  
Garish purples and red splotches intertwined like a matinee of extravagant silks draped across his porcelain white skin.

Yet this was not what had drawn the men's attention.

Just above Ianto's naval was an angry patch of skin, swollen and protruding from his slim frame; a thick yellow liquid slowly oozing from a thin scratch at its centre.

Well shit.


	13. Contagion

**A/N:**

Hi everyone ^_^  
So please don't kill me for being so late with this chapter. A lot of stuff has been going on and writers block hasn't helped at all. Well I guess it can't be helped aye?

Anyways thank you so much again everyone for all the views and reviews :)  
Please continue... haha oh wow sounds a bit desperate much?  
No but really I really enjoy reading all of you reviews and it gives me confidence that I'm actually doing something right here and not just butchering the show. Oh and if I ever do... please let me know. I may write fiction but I don't want to embarrass myself.

So on with the story... oh by the way sorry if people think my chapters are a bit short. I am trying to make them a bit more lengthy, but it is a literary device to make chapters not too long. Wow been thinking waaayyy to much about English... damn.

Also you guys may have noticed that i tend to use a lot of medical references. Sorry if these make reading a bit difficult for some. I do try to make them pretty self explanatory, or describe things as clearly as I can. I try to be as authentic as possible and always do my background research for these things.

Well enjoys guys ^_^

* * *

Contagion

Jack swallowed dryly, breaking the pregnant silence which had hung over the pair.  
"Owen…?"

Owen simply stared, mouth open; whether in shock or curiosity was anyone's guess.  
His hands were frozen, still holding apart the pieces of cloth which used to be Ianto's favourite shirt.

"OWEN!"

His gaze shot up to meet Jack's pleading eyes, glassy with the tears now beginning to well up. The vibrancy of the gaze shocked the doctor out of his state.  
He'd seen that look many times before.  
All of those family and friends he'd had to consult after he'd just lost their loved one…

He looked back down at Ianto. Could he really do this… he didn't even know what THIS was! It would be different if it were flu, or a god damn severed appendage…but this…

This could be something he feared more than anything… a contagion and if it was… Gods help them all.

Not taking his eyes of Ianto, he directed back to Jack, trying to sound as calm as he could, "Jack…. go and get me a petri dish, inoculation loop and backboard".

He could feel his resolve cracking.  
_Just let him do as he's tol-_

"W-what.. but Ia-"

Aaaannndddd it's gone.  
"FUCK! Now Jack!…" he snapped, eyes fierce, but still focused on Ianto, not wanting Jack to see the worry he was sure was etched into his facial features by now.

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, realising that he had to treat Jack like those family members and friends he hated dealing with so much and not like his boss; softening his gaze on the other man, he tried again.

"Please Jack…".

After a slight pause he heard the other's footsteps leave the area, hopefully to collect the items he'd requested. Owen then proceeded to run his hand over his face and hair as if to rub the stress away, Gods knows he didn't need it.

He needed to get him away; he couldn't bring himself to deal with those looks anymore. He didn't do bedside manner, _not after Katie_…

Moving those memories aside, he looked down at himself.  
His hands were shaking, almost vibrating with such intensity that he briefly wondered if the cloth in his gloved hands would rip even further with the force.

When had that?...

_No._

Stop.

Get it together Harper

Just get on with it…

After a few calming breaths he sighed and turned his focus back to Ianto.  
Eyes scanned over the form of his co worker and he ticked some mental notes.

Cranial contusion

Abdominal laceration… probable infection

Internal bleeding

_Right_

He brought his hands to the delicate tissue around said laceration, experimentally prodding the area.

His eye twitched slightly as he tried to ignore his inner disgust when more of the yellow liquid seeped out, frowning as he had a closer look at the reddened skin.

_Wait-_

The skin – it wasn't red in itself like a rash – but not a rash…

He pulled out is magnifier from is kit and leant awkwardly over Ianto's body, propping himself up with his elbows trying to get better lighting on the area. Noting that it would probably bruise the young man – well bruise more…

He tried to recall everything that could be the cause.

_Red.. dots…_  
He brushed a gloved finger over the area, trying to feel for any abnormalities.

_Not on the skin… under – blood.  
Well yeah he was bleeding quite a bit, collapsing could have caus-  
But it's __not__ bruising, it would have at least began to colourise like the others by now._

_Ok so  
Small red dots. Blood. Under the skin. Not bruising_…

_No. it couldn't be.  
It's not possible, there's no way it could have manifested this early…  
_  
Owen visibly paled as a sudden realisation hit him.

_Shit  
__1__Petechiae._

Owen inwardly cursed the Welshman's luck.  
"Of course you would Tea Boy" he mumbled. Not sure whether to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation or to just give up altogether.

Before he could make up his mind a was shadow cast over the area and he twisted to see Jack, petri kit in hand. Tosh next to him, offering a supportive smile; holding the backboard to the side.  
"Owen, here" Jack said offering the box.

"Thanks Jack" he responded, trying his best to put on a reassuring smile for the Captain.

Owen soon got to work, taking a sample from the infected cut. He handed the dish to Tosh not pausing to watch as she quickly went off to put it into incubation for culturing.

"Jack help me get him on here will ya?" he asked, gesturing to the back board left behind by Tosh.

Both men struggled to ease the dead weight of their colleague onto the board while trying not to aggravate any spinal damage he may have incurred.  
The real issue was yet to come though… getting all three of them down to the Med Bay without any of them face planting the floor.

With one at either end of the board, they looked at each other a little concerned about what they would have to do.

Owen glanced up at Jack, face serious.  
"Ok Jack I know it sucks, but there isn't really another way to do this quickly; on the count of three lift to hip height, we'll have to go down the stairs"

"Okay Owen, let's do this"

"Tosh can you please continue pumping for us?"

"Sure thing" she said, taking over from Jack, allowing him to grab onto the back board handles. Owen was relieved that unlike Jack, she had somewhat recovered from seeing Ianto's current state.

They both grabbed their respective ends, muscles already feeling the strain.  
"OK, ready?"

Jack nodded, eyes locked on Owen's movements

"One…. Two… Three!"Ianto was slowly lifted, looking if possible, even more fragile.

With some coaxing and direction from Tosh and Gwen who had joined her from the Med Bay, the two men slowly but surely made their decent down to the main floor.

Jack couldn't help but grimace as they dodging puddles of water, stacks of paperwork and towers of takeaway coffee cups and pizza boxes which seemed to litter the floor.

He looked down at Ianto  
Had they already fallen apart without him after only a few weeks of suspension? _Jesus_

Carefully they manoeuvred Ianto onto the examination table, allowing Owen to finally take some blood work and start fluids.

The grim atmosphere radiating from the team was not helping the situation,  
"Well blood pressure is evening out a bit" offered Owen, being answered with nothing but silence.

Jack was stood next to Ianto, holding his lover's hand, smiling fondly as he brushed some loose hair behind his ear.  
_Thank Gods he wasn't conscious for this… he hates needles  
_  
Owen set up the oximeter on the side table, cautious of their co-worker's vital signs, the thoughts of Petechiae swimming through his mind making him frown as he stared down at the man.

It was going to be a tension filled time before the culture and blood work would be ready for examination.  
In other words, they couldn't do a damn thing until the machines were done.

He ground his teeth with frustration and grasped onto the bench top knuckles whitening against the bench.

Just what the _fuck_ was he meant to do?

As if by magic, Tosh walked up to Owen to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, obviously concerned.  
"Owen – are you alright?"

Unclenching his hands with haste, he placed a gloved hand over hers and turned to face her, trying to act unfazed.  
"I will be… let's just get Tea Boy up and better aye? I'm missing his coffee a bit" he smiled.  
Returning the gesture she nodded in agreement before patting his shoulder and going off to inspect the blood work and assist Gwen with the cultures.

Owen moved around to the opposite side of the table to access the IV line, attempting to distract himself from the seriousness of the situation.

He began the routine checks almost on autopilot but something was nagging him.

There was no way around it, he was scared.  
What if it was contagious? What if it was airborne? _Shit_, they'd all have been exposed…

For once he cursed at the efficiency of the restored air way system of the Hub.

There wasn't much point in even attempting to try and avoid the possibility now, they'd need to have level one lockdown initiated. _Bollocks._

He glanced over at Jack. He was smiling at least…  
How was he going to break it to him that they might all end up like that?

"Owen – everything alright?"

_Damn it was he staring?_

Caught off guard he attempted to act natural and come up with a convincing lie; Gods he'd told enough of them in his lifetime already.  
"Hmm – oh – umm", but he ended up failing, unable to lie under the circumstances " uh- Jack?"

He guided the man out of earshot of the girls and began to unconsciously pick at his nails, the old tick sparking worry in Jack.

"Yeah?" he enquired, straightening up at Owen's change in tone and mannerisms, but failing to let go of Ianto's hand.

"We need to talk."

* * *

**1**: Petechiae are small pinpoint red dots which occur from broken blood vessels under the skin; often caused by injury, trauma or allergic reactions this skin condition can be associated with conditions such as septicemia.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUUUNNNN...**  
**Well I hope it was up to you standards everyone :)**  
**I'm definitely going to keep continuing with this story. I've got some great ideas which I'm sure a lot of you will enjoy and appreciate.**

**So please keep reading and reviewing ^_^**  
**Until next time**


	14. Through the microscope

**A/N: Hi everyone ^_^  
I apologize for the late-ish chapter, a lot of stuff has been going on lately; I've had 21st parties, sport and getting ready for Uni again. Oh and not to mention I've had some shoulder surgery as well; which was a bit unpleasant to say the least. Never mind though; I've been getting the rest of the story together for this chapter and I'm actually really excited to where this is going :) So I hope you will all too when it gets to it.**  
**Hint hint... there are some hidden symbolism techniques in this chapter which probably won't make sense yet... but all in due time.**  
**AND I've made this chapter a lot longer than I had though so it should appease some of you guys for a little while.**  
**I will try to get chapters done in the upcoming weeks but Uni will make it difficult so please hang in there OK? ^_^ Not to worry I'm going to finish this story and won't leave you hanging for months or years on end (unlike some people ^_^ yes you know who you are... cough cough azehcaz cough cough) haha **  
**So on with it then; enjoy.**

* * *

Through the microscope 

* * *

Owen for the lack of words looked nervous.

"What is it?" Jack asked Owen, his voice sounding unnaturally strained, worry woven through his usually bravado-filled accent. Jack's hands we covered in blood, Ianto's blood. He cringed at the sight and his appendages quickly found themselves deep within his pockets and out of sight, mainly for his own benefit.

"While we won't know for sure, there is a possibility that it's contagious Jack". Owen wiped his face in worry, not wanting to make eye contact. "Until I get back the blood work back, there's no way of knowing but I'd feel more comfortable if we _all _had a screening".

Jack peered over Owen's shoulder, sneaking a glance at Ianto. He looked so pale and fragile. He reminded him of a china doll, one of those ones that your Gran had but you were never allowed to touch for fear of breaking it.  
Owen took this opportunity to continue talking.

"Jack, he needs to be put in quarantine"

"No", Jack said flatly. He walked over to Ianto and he tenderly held onto his hand and stroked his cheek, not wanting to be separated. "He's already been through so damn much Owen, I can't let him wake up from this alone as well… I just can't". Owen noted his hand tighten around Ianto's protectively.

There was a silence. He wasn't taking it well and for good reason.

The two couldn't hear anything except the patterned beeping of the monitor and the distant whirring of the monument. It was Owen that broke the tension.

"Please Jack, if it is what I think it is then we could all be exposed. I need to isolate him", he begged, expression tense.  
_For Gods sake Jack, please…._

"Okay" Jack hesitantly agreed, his voice cracking slightly as he looked back at Owen, realizing the situation in its entirety. If he didn't authorize this, Ianto had little to no chance, he wasn't ready for that.  
If he hadn't been a few metres away, Owen would have thought he'd miss it.

Before Jack could change his mind, Owen swept past him, patting his shoulder in reassurance before tending to Ianto for his transfer.

He continued his work of removing the oozing material, applying generous amounts of antiseptic to Ianto's wound and stitching the laceration, before applying a gauze.  
Owen then attached a ventilation system and strapped Ianto down onto the nearby gurney with assistance from Jack.  
Owen paused to look over Ianto's vitals before moving him further.  
"He seems to be stable" he noted, reading over the monitors scans and somewhat translating them for Jack who seemed lost among the scene.  
"From memory there's a secondary Med bay we can use as a quarantine area a little way past the archives, thankfully Ianto's kept it clean", he explained. "For once I applauded his neat-freakiness" he chuckled, making Jack smile gently.

Owen began to pack up the equipment they needed, attaching an antibiotic lead to Ianto's IV line.  
"If we can wheel him down there and isolate him, he may have a better chance of fighting off the infection he's contracted". Or passing it on, he thought.

Jack nodded, trying to put on a brave face, as he was led by Owen down into the depths of the Hub, Ianto on the gurney between them.

It wasn't an easy feat getting the young man to the room, they got lost a few times and had to backtrack a few more; not exactly surprising considering the many passageways and sharp corners from the old infrastructure. Neither of the men if asked later would contest to that though, especially since it turned out that the second med bay was directly under the one on the main floor.

A few dents in the gurney and a couple of muffled curses to the builders of the Hub later the three arrived at what appeared to be a med bay. Well 'ED B Y' according to the more than worn out sign, hanging rather ungraciously from one nail above the door frame.

Both of the men changed into hazmat suits before transferring Ianto into the cordoned off sleeping area of the room and then dry bathed the man. Under the fluorescent lighting Owen could see even more prominently that the man hadn't been eating properly after Lisa, his ribs and spinal bones were prominent and now he could even see the darkened circles encompassing the young man's eyes; making him look gaunt.

Once done, they dressed Ianto into a hospital gown and Owen ensured that his vitals were still stable.  
"Are you alright to stay with him for a while Jack?" he asked, "I need to check on the girls and see if they've made any progress on Ianto's progress".

Jack was sat next to Ianto, watching him as he slept soundly from the painkillers.  
"Sure, I'll call if his condition changes yeah?" Jack said smiling briefly in Owen's direction.

Owen sighed. "Jack, if you don't mind me asking, are you and Te- Ianto…" he paused briefly struggling to grasp the words, "You know… an item?"  
That caused Jack to look at him, he wasn't quite sure what they were, well not anymore.  
"It's complicated…"

"You don't need to-"

"No it's fine", reassured Jack. "Before Lisa, I don't think counts anymore, not after he told me the truth. But on suspension I came by his place one night and he was waiting for me, knife in hand".

Owen gulped and folded his arms not knowing what quite what to make of that.

"He's been depressed. Severely depressed", he added, "I had no idea just how much until he stabbed me when I tried to get close and he spent the next 2 hours crying and apologizing".  
Jack visibly cringed, "He ended up downing a few bottles and confessed everything to me; he blames himself for everything and regretted what he did. I've never seen someone so distraught Owen, he was ready to just end it but I calmed him down and ended up spending the night… nothing happened!", he quickly added seeing the slight twitch in the corner of Owen's mouth.  
"He fell asleep and I left a note telling him he could see me whenever he needed to, because I've been there myself".

"Did he?"

"Yeah, more than once, he's still in a bad place but he's beginning to trust others again. I love the man Owen; I have for a long time. I forgave him a while ago and I just want to make sure he never has to go back to the shadows again, I may never get him back." He rubbed Ianto's hand and smiled.  
"Even if he doesn't feel the same, I just want to keep him safe."

Owen couldn't help but admire the man. Ianto had fucked up royally and screwed Jack over in more ways than one and yet he still forgave him with all his heart.  
"OK Jack- I get it now. I'll do what I can, but not just for you alright?" He said with a roll of the eyes. "I know we miss his coffees just as much, yeah?" he said, grabbing the file off the end of Ianto's bed before heading back out the door to the Hub.

* * *

Tosh stared dazedly at the computer screen over her glasses as her newly adapted computer program began to deconstruct one of the blood samples from Ianto.  
Numbers and lines alongside a magnified projection of his blood blinked dully in front of her.

She sighed in frustration; there was nothing she could really do. She'd only just finished preparing the culture of the yellow sample so it could be hours before the culture would be at a stage where she could analyze it and Ianto's bloods would be at least another 45 minutes if she'd calculated her numbers correctly.

Damn she could use a coffee right now.

_No. Think of Ianto._

She pushed the glasses back off the bridge of her nose, to stare more intently at the screen currently in front of her, as if it would make the machine work faster.

Tosh shifted a little, feeling a bit uneasy. She hoped that all of this was simply an infection or allergic reaction, but from how Owen had acted earlier she doubted that.

From the corner of her eye she could see Gwen sitting at her desk, fingers clinking on the side of the mug housing the now cold cup of coffee Ianto had made her earlier that morning. She didn't seem to notice though; she was pale and was staring off into space, probably hoping for the same things Tosh just had been.  
She obviously needed to talk to someone, to get some reassurance that it would all be OK…

She turned in her chair to face her, "Gwen – maybe you should call Rhys?" she suggested, "If we're going to be in quarantine maybe you should let him know?"

Gwen sighed unclasping her fingers from the mug and reached for her phone, not answering Tosh, but choosing to just act. She shuffled out of her chair and disappeared down the hallway without another word.

Passing off the rudeness for shock, Tosh decided to focus again on helping Ianto and was surprised when a blinking glow from her computer screen illuminated her glasses with bursts of green light.

The samples were done.

* * *

Owen walked into the desk area, passing Tosh before looking back and realizing she was off in one of her'bubbles'. Ever since the first time they met he's noticed that whenever she was deeply involved in something; be that analyzing some new tech, processing a new security protocol or even just tracking the predictability of a predicted rift spike, she'd kind of stop and just freeze, like she so transfixed on something that her brain required so much energy that it takes away all of her other senses.  
Just like now.

Back tracking he stepped up behind her and leaning over her shoulder, trying to be stealthy.  
"Found anything interesting?" Tosh jumped, smacking random keys in panic, before turning to glare at Owen.  
He tried to throw her his best 'Just couldn't resist face' but by the daggers she was giving him, he quickly changed tactics, clearing his throat.

"Oh come on Tosh, just trying to lighten the mood. Soooo by that look you just had, you were either contemplating the expansiveness of the Universe or you've found something", he encouraged, leaning closer to the screen, giving her a quick sideways glance.

Taking a better look at the screen and actually taking the time to contemplate what he was seeing, Owen faulted.  
"The samples are done? That's not right, most cultures take hours to properly adhere to the dishes", he stated, looking puzzled at how the cells could have multiplied so quickly.

"What's that then?" he genuinely asked, motioning to the magnified image of a rounded, hard spore-like thing in front of them.

Tosh turned her attention back to the screen, her chin resting in a hand as she pointed to the image with the other.  
"It's an enlarged image from the sample we cultured from Ianto's wound", she explained.  
She motioned to the screens around the central one, obviously frustrated. "My guess it's alien in origin. It multiplied at an unreasonable pace and I hadn't even turned the machine's internal lights on yet. I've also ran the image through all Earth entomology and botanist databases but there's no matches so far".

Owen frowned. "Have you tried to break open the outer shell?"

Tosh nodded. " I've subjected it to heat, water and I've even tried to cut it with the cellular laser we confiscated from unit last month; nothing is even making a scratch", she said with a huff as she leant back in her chair in defeat.

Owen raised his eyebrows at that. When they'd tested it a few weeks back there wasn't anything they could find that the laser _wouldn't_ get through. They'd even broken apart various metal atoms with a few tweaks of the equipment.

But if that stuff was what was in Ianto's blood, then it was becoming more and more likely that these little buggers are what caused the allergic reaction.  
Owen crinkled his nose in worry, tapping his pen on his hand, before pointing it at the screen.  
"Are there any significant structural anomalies on the surface you've found? Any mucus, flaking areas…?"

"No" she answered, "No signs of any foreign bodies other than the spores in Ianto's blood either." She brought up the image of Ianto's blood sample, showing some more close up images of some spores and grabbed some of the paperwork littering her desk. "It's like they're dead; not surprising considering his blood is slightly acidic from the excess of CO2 he had in his system when he collapsed", she said, motioning to the papers.  
"But other than that all I've found is that his white blood count is a bit elevated, once again not surprising since he has so many pathogens in his system."

_Something wasn't right.  
_  
Owen picked up the pile of documents Tosh had been holding, flicking through them quickly.  
They were pages and pages of diagnostic test results, mostly for blood tests.

NEGATIVE

NEGATIVE

NEGATIVE

INCONCLUSIVE

Well - that stood out a bit.

Owen frowned, one eyebrow furrowing as he read over the line again.

INCONCLUSIVE.

That's odd. Well, it's not but it is.  
Under normal circumstances he would have dismissed it as the equipment or a dodgy sample and would have had another lot of tests performed on a new sample, but this was Tosh's equipment; it's enhanced by alien technology; much to Jack's initial protest. There shouldn't be anything on Earth or otherwise that would read inconclusive with these programs.

His eyes locked on the last line as he mentally read the word over and over trying to make some sense of it. Of course he was curious. Who the hell wouldn't be? – but there was something that irked him, something poking at the back of his mind, telling him that there was something a lot deeper going on.

Reluctantly he decided that he should go back to old school methods and look at the sample directly under a microscope.

Sliding into his chair he wheeled over to the side desk, placing the documents to the side.  
He made up the slides, that feeling niggling at him a bit more.  
He hadn't felt that for a long time, back to when he was still a normal doctor, working in a normal hospital. Come to think of it the last time had been when he'd met Jack… with Katy.

Pushing that emotion back with the twitch of an eye he settled to adjust the eyepieces and objective lenses of the light microscope to bring the blood sample into focus.

_Jesus_

When Tosh had said that the white blood count was high he'd thought she'd been over exaggerating… apparently not.  
All throughout his field of vision he could see leukocytes, way too many.  
The purple stained cells were almost double the numbers you would usually find and almost double in size.  
_Well that confirmed infection_, but something caught his eye to the top corner of the view.

There were small, perfectly round circles. He had initially ruled them out as being red blood cells at first glance but now he saw they were less than half the size.  
Owen became a little more and more concerned as he twisted a knob on the microscope and the stage moved slightly.  
There were more. Many more. At least 30 in the field he could see. That meant hundreds no scratch that, thousands, maybe tens of thousands of the spore-like things were currently littering Ianto's blood stream.

_Fuck_

Any injury like the one Ianto had would have guaranteed debris being lodged in his flesh entering his bloodstream, although he had no idea what _these_ were…  
The thing he didn't like was how much had gotten in and a new question was raised; where the hell had these come from?


End file.
